Data Can Make a Difference

Effective Leaders Benefit from Data-to-Results Program

by Jennifer Rogers, Assistant Director of Public Relations/Communications for Michigan Association of School Boards

Today’s schools face many challenges as they strive to raise achievement levels for ALL students. This demanding emphasis on higher quality forces board members and education leaders to take a look at their role in their school’s improvement process. It’s no secret that raising student achievement requires a good, hard look at data.

Data Helps Districts Set Goals

The Michigan Association of School Boards’ (MASB) Data-to-Results program is designed to help busy board members and education leaders manage and interpret data productively. This practical and innovative program helps district personnel incorporate data into the strategic planning process and produce district-wide plans for their school districts. The program includes collecting qualitative data in interviews with staff, parents, community leaders, and students. By compiling data into an easy-to-understand format, the Data-to-Results program gives school districts an overall picture of their district so that board members and education leaders clearly can see where improvement is needed as well as respective areas of school excellence.

Data-to-Results takes information already collected in the district (e.g. assessment scores, district demographics, enrollment) and combines it with data from Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services (SES). Community input is considered a crucial component in the Data-to-Results data collection process. Easy-to-understand data summaries are provided by MASB for district demographics, student learning, operations and finances, personnel, enrollment, and facilities to help education leaders determine appropriate priority goals on which to focus. Prioritizing makes a positive difference in board and leadership productivity. The Data-to-Results program goal is to help school districts deal with declining enrollment, connect with their communities, focus on priorities, and work as a team, all while raising student achievement.

“Often each board member has three or four goals for the superintendent, so that can mean 28 goals,” said Lloyd Kirby, Colon Community Schools Superintendent and Data-to-Results client. His district used the Data-to-Results program to identify four goals common for all board members. “This sort of focus means we can really accomplish something for students,” said Kirby.

“Data-to-Results has increased the leadership commitment of the board and superintendent, and that has improved relations between the school board, superintendent, and leadership team,” said Board President of Colon Community Schools Martha Graham. “We have a motivated school board and more credibility in the community.”

Data Helps Districts Get Results

Cadillac Area Public Schools was committed to improving student achievement and raising its graduation rates. The district used Data-to-Results to find realistic ways to impact both areas. Cadillac Area Public Schools faced a huge problem with low graduation rates. The board of education thought it was a problem that every school district was facing and one the district needed to accept and move on. However, after using Data-to-Results, the district found that it had one of the lowest graduation rates in the state and that other schools weren’t facing the same challenge. The board hired a success coordinator to act as a social worker/counselor to show students that Cadillac Area Public Schools cared and wanted them to finish school. The end result
of their efforts was almost perfect graduation rates.

“Using Data-to-Results has made a real difference for Cadillac. It gave us a clear focus, direction, and hope for our goals,” said Board President Craig Weidner.

While the specific Data-to-Results story is different for each district, there are common results: a district-wide focus on a limited number of measurable goals, objectives emphasizing student achievement, and improved relationships. The success of the program is reflected in the success that a district has in realizing its priority goals.

Jennifer Rogers is the Assistant Director of Public Relations and Communications for Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB). MASB advocates for public education and student achievement.

For more information, contact: Michigan Association of School Boards, (517) 327-5900, (800) 968-4627, info@masb.org or visit www.masb.org.

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